the smile wavering on his lips as a myriad of emotions flickered across Ronni’s face.
“We’re chaperoning them,” she said, more confidently than the doubt that flashed in her eyes suggested.
“Maybe. Willow isn’t sixteen yet. And considering the rough time she’s had with fake friends, I intend to keep a close eye on her. But Alex—” Bodie glanced at the tall, blond young man with an easy smile and manner. There was a subtle prowess that suggested when he entered adulthood, he would be a force to be reckoned with—if he wasn’t already.
“Has been through a lot,” Ronni said defensively.
The fierce look in her eyes said she was in protective mama mode and would likely use those pretty white teeth to shred someone to pieces if she felt her son was threatened.
Unbidden affection rushed through Bodie. He could really use an ally as strong as Ronni. All he needed to do was earn her trust and the best way to do that was help her deal with whatever had her so worried. But she was too defensive tonight. He’d have to broach it another time.
“I was nineteen when I lost my father.” A bitter lump grew in Bodie’s throat. He sucked down his entire glass of water, trying to dilute it.
“Losing a parent at any age is difficult,” Ronni said quietly. “Did your mother remarry?”
“No.” Bodie knew to tread carefully, but he figured if he spoke to be flattering, the she-wolf would sense the insincerity. “I became her life and now that’s a huge complication for us.”
He averted his gaze to Willow. His mother wanted to shelter Willow, keep her safe, protected. Caged. More and more, Bodie simply wanted to see his daughter soar.
“She’s a lovely girl.”
“Thanks.” Willow would grow into quite a beauty, like her mother, but she needed a strong feminine role model who would help her discover her own inner strength and develop a stronger spirit than Layla had.
Rather than encourage Willow, his well-meaning mother was more likely to squelch her emerging independence.
“Do you want to get some fresh air in the park?” Bodie could use some.
Ronni’s furtive gaze shot to Alex and then to the door. “It’s getting late.”
“Tomorrow isn’t a school day.” Bodie stood. “We’ll be in full view of the restaurant. The kids will be fine.”
He could read the word no forming on her tightly pressed lips.
“Unless you’re afraid of being alone with me.” He held out his hand.
The she-wolf’s nostrils flared. Fire sparked in her eyes and pride straightened her shoulders.
Bingo!
He’d pushed the right buttons. His smile grew uncontrollably broader, until she clutched his hand. Electricity shot through his palm as if he’d grabbed an exposed wire juiced with a live current. The powerful charge scrambled his brain and his vision might’ve gone a little wonky because an overly satisfied gleam lit Ronni’s eyes.
She walked over to the kids’ table and spoke to them, then sashayed to the door without looking back. He gave Willow a nod. Her smile lit the dining room. Lucas inched closer to her, dropping his arm protectively across the back of her chair. Alex’s gaze was fixed on his mother. When she disappeared out the door, his laser-intense eyes swung to Bodie.
The warning was clear. This one would be hell to deal with if crossed.
Bodie turned to follow Ronni outside, willing steel in his legs. He wished the wobble was from something other than the she-wolf’s touch, but he’d only drank one beer and Alex’s attempt at intimidation had no real effect.
A light breeze nipped Bodie’s face as he stepped into the night. Ronni leaned inside her car and pulled out the blanket they’d used at the game. She wrapped it around her shoulders, closed the car door and walked to a nearby park bench. He sat close beside her. Closer than he normally would on a first date but he’d already seen her naked and his instinct pushed him to leave no space between them.
The moment their thighs touched, Bodie’s mind flooded with the awareness of her femininity and her vulnerability. All the while, her heat warmed him far deeper than the surface of his skin. If she hadn’t been the first to break eye contact, he could’ve easily drown in the sea of blue her gaze held.
Tilting her head back exposed the creamy expanse of her slender throat. “It is a beautiful night,” she said, echoing his earlier sentiment.
“Not compared to you.”
Something more than physical attraction awakened in him. Whatever it was, he needed to keep it in check. He couldn’t afford to lose his heart or his head when his family’s future hung in the balance.
Tha-dump. Tha-dump. Tha-dump. Tha-dump.
Biting back his annoyance, Bodie pulled to the side of the narrow, two-lane road. The sun had dipped lower than the mountaintops. All he wanted to do was get home, take a hot shower and crash for the next eight to ten hours.
Last night, he’d barely slept. Every time his eyes closed, visions of Ronni’s soft-looking lips beckoned him for a kiss while her eyes pooled with depths of emotion he wanted to explore.
I should’ve kissed her. Long and deep and possessively. Instead, he’d gone with a brush of lips against her cheek to leave her wanting more rather than being presumptuous.
As he walked to the back passenger side of the truck his boots thudded against the gravel. No other sound carried. Right smack-dab in the middle of nowhere was the last place he wanted to be with a flat and no spare.
Correction. He had a spare, but it happened to be in use, as the front left tire.
Severe cutbacks in government spending had every department tightening their budgets. Approval of his request for a set of new wheels was buried somewhere in the pipeline.
Bodie knelt to examine the flat. Nothing protruded from the outer side. His hopes that a simple patch would suffice died when he leaned underneath the vehicle and saw the metal sticking out of the interior sidewall.
Sitting on the ground, he leaned against the vehicle. A few minutes ago, he’d passed the turn to the Brasstown Bald Visitors Center, but it was nearly five o’clock. By the time he hiked back to the turnoff and up the road toward the summit, anyone who might give him a ride into Maico would likely be gone.
Although he was in excellent physical shape, at the moment, he didn’t have the energy to walk several miles of deserted road to get home.
He could shift and fly, but then he’d have to abandon the vehicle, his uniform and his gun. Gathering his strength, he stood, then walked to driver’s side of the truck.
Bodie reached inside the vehicle and grabbed his phone. Due to the escalating tensions, a call to his mother wasn’t ideal, but it was the only viable option.
“Dammit!”
